What I Know About...Our New Apartment and Neighborhood (After Living Here Almost One Week)

After a slam-bang weekend of moving and starting to unpack, we're here! "Here" is in the Old Irving Park neighborhood, in our quiet one-bedroom apartment (which doesn't have closets full of old shoes or see-through walls, as my anxiety dreams last week led me to worry about). We're already getting to know the quirks of this place, and we've been exploring the area around us. This is what I've learned:

I know...

1. The grass is always greener: There were a few things I was grateful to leave behind at the Naw, but I replaced those with new things. For example, my bedroom is no longer several feet from a neighbor's dining room, but our own dining room and kitchen are now several feet away from another dining room and kitchen. And instead of a southward slant, this apartment leans decidedly to the east.
2. Some of my routines don't have to change!: my new library and nearest grocery store are close to each other, which means my typical Saturday routine of getting/returning books and stocking up on food for the week can stay in place.
3. Other routines are long gone: Being two minutes away from the train stop has been great for my commute and general disposition about CTA, but not so great for my bike riding.
4. It's quiet: Like way quieter than the surrounding area of the Naw.
5. There's something that makes a place "home": We aren't quite there yet - it still feels like we are house-sitting - but little by little we're making this new place ours.